When change saves lives
They say change is hard. But it’s really not the change that’s most difficult. The biggest hurdle is deciding to change. Once you do that, you’re on your way. This is a story about a decision to change the Baltimore County Animal Shelter (BCAS), and the transformation that resulted.
First, a little background.
BCAS is run by the Baltimore County Health Department. As an open admission shelter, it must accept every pet brought in by Animal Control or the public. It takes in about 5,000 animals annually.
Several years ago, animal advocates began complaining loudly that BCAS was using terribly outdated practices and had euthanasia rates that were too high.
The fact is, at the time, BCAS was just like many shelters around the country. It was just going along, doing things the way they had been done for decades. For example, it had no active volunteer or foster programs, little cooperation with rescue groups, didn’t perform spay or neuter surgeries, offered no enrichment for shelter animals, and had very high euthanasia rates for cats…61 percent in 2014.
The county was planning to build a new shelter facility. But animal advocates said that wasn’t enough. They wanted real policy change, an embrace of modern-day, life-saving practices.
Animal advocates held sign-waving demonstrations. Some people flooded Facebook with angry posts.
Because county officials are human, they responded to this attack by fighting back, insisting everything at the shelter was fine.
In fact, because they didn’t understand the new way of doing things, they thought everything was fine.
Both sides went to their corners. But to his great credit, County Executive Kevin Kamenetz began asking questions, exploring the procedures that animal advocates recommended.
Says Kamanetz, “We researched it, and looked into it, and listened to people, and as a result, we adopted those procedures.”
Yes, they did. In the last two years, Baltimore County
- Has opened a brand new state-of-the-art animal shelter in Baldwin, Md.
- Has brought on new staff, dedicated to modern-day procedures and saving lives
- Has grown its partnerships with outside rescue organizations
- Has implemented active and growing volunteer and foster programs
- Has ended the policy of trapping and killing free-roaming cats and instead has adopted a TNR (Trap Neuter Return) program
- Has focused on the source of animal homelessness, providing low-cost spay/neuter services at the shelter and at two satellite clinics.
The result? Happier, healthier shelter animals and higher live release rates. From July 2016 through June 2017, 92.5 percent of dogs and over 84 percent of cats left the shelter alive, either reunited with their owners, adopted, or pulled by rescue groups. During some quarters, even cat live release has reached 90 percent. Administrators expect live release rates will go even higher in coming years as increased spay/neuter of county pets and TNR decrease the number of animals that come into the shelter in the first place.
I first became involved in animal issues several years ago because of the controversy swirling around BCAS. So, its metamorphosis has been personal and inspirational for me.
It all happened because our county officials made the very difficult decision to change. Many animals’ lives are being saved as a result.
To see BCAS as it is today, just watch this short video.
See how Baxter, Luna, Whiskey and Ziggy did as models for the cover of Jmore's January 2019 Pets Issue.
We celebrate those four-legged friends and other furry creatures who live among us and bring so much joy and meaning to our lives.
Dogs (especially Goldendoodles, it seems) and cats are well-represented in the Jmore family.
Animals have a way of worming their way into our hearts and making us behave in ways we normally wouldn’t.